FRINGE TCA Panel: Destination Final Season

The showrunner and cast of Fringespoke to reporters at the sci-fi serial’s final TCA panel presentation on Monday.

The panel began with a special taped message from co-creator JJ. Abrams thanking fans and critics for supporting the series:

“I wish I could be there to thank every one of you personally for your unbelievable support of the series. Fringe is a show that I’m enormously proud to be associated with. The work that the cast and crew have done has been amazing. But your support is really the thing that has kept it alive. And Fox has been unbelievable…It’s a very great thing in this day and age that a network would support a show that isn’t a massive hit. And Fringe has always been, true to its name, more an outside-the-box series.”

Here are some more highlights:

Showrunner J.H. Wyman reiterated that “Letters Of Transit” was used as a ‘concept’ for the fifth season:

“We tried out 4.19 to see how people engaged with it.”

Wyman on how the show has morphed throughout the seasons:

“There have probably been about three or four endings.

“The show has a natural ending. It’s something that we know is right. How that takes shape is always in flux,”

Wyman on the message of the final 13 episodes:

“It’s about ‘What are we trying to say?‘ It’s not just by happenstance. It’s ‘How can I utilize the past, the present, the future to bring these themes home?’”

“Some things may be unexpected, some things may be expected, but I want them to feel like it has been earned. I want them to get a sense of closure and hopefulness.”

Wyman on the goal of Season 5

“The goal of season five, from my perspective, is we’ve done so much work to get people invested in the mythology, the root of it all, these people are what our people and our fans care about”

“This year, what I’m really after is to make sure those relationships pay off. Those relationships are the highlight. I want people to watch Fringe and relate with loving something more than anything and loving my family and wanting them to be okay.”

Wyman on bringing the story to a natural conclusion:

“I’m not interested in doing open ended. It would cause me frustration. I wouldn’t be satisfied. Here’s what’s really cool about Fringe, and one of the things we did do right — the way we chose to tell the story, after every season there’s a closure and a new chapter. That allows us to make closure and if we wanted to or we could open it up again. One thing Fringe has, is no shortage of ideas. There are so many jumping off points to use. Everybody’s thought about it. I wouldn’t want to pull a trip like that on our viewers. I want to reward them. I honestly sincerely feel that it’s the most miraculous fan base I’ve ever seen. I want to make sure I use every fiber of my body to deliver for them what I think is going to be satisfaction for the loyalty.”

Fox president Kevin Reilly on the decision not to cancel Fringe:

“I don’t like to pull the plug on any show, and many of our failed shows have millions of fans. We have a checkered history with genre at best, because we’re one of the only networks who have consistently tried genre. Fringe has a specific fan base and the Fringe producers have delivered a fantastic show. It’s done the job for us Fridays.”

Joshua Jackson on the opportunity to end Fringe well:

“Knock it out of the park, that’s the gift Fox gave us,”

Wyman on the lack of ‘reward’ recognition for John Noble:

“I’m sitting in the editing room going, ‘Wow.’ I don’t understand. If it’s the issue of it being a science-fiction show, I don’t know.”